The Code

THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS
CODE of HONOR

for Artists and Friends of the Arts

PREAMBLE

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Today more than fifty years later, a very great part of the human race still lives in conditions that are a clear violation of the ideals and standards of this proclamation, and the fury of intolerance, wars and terrorism more than ever threaten the future of our civilization.

Therefore, as a participant in Art for Human Rights and Tolerance (AHRT), I hereby pledge myself to the Universal Human Rights Code of Honor to help make the Universal Declaration become a reality. So that even in the smallest places on earth, in every church, temple or mosque; in every political system of the world; and in the hearts of all men, women and children of the planet, the Declaration will be a real living thing not just a piece of paper, and human rights will become a fact of life, not just a wishful dream.

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1. I will study and apply the Declaration in my own life so that I can insist on its rights for my own survival and that of my family, my friends, groups and the world.

2. I will, through my creativity and my art, defend these rights, nourish and enrich them, and decry any violations of them with all my heart.

3. I will support and develop artistic projects that help bona fide organizations working for human rights to achieve their purposes.

4. I will work with the press and use my good will to help projects and organizations that make the Declaration known to the children of the planet and all others.

5. I will inform other members of the art community, my public and the press about our organization so that Art for Human rights and Tolerance can rapidly grow and expand.

6. I will inspire the members and leaders of my Church, my political party, or other groups of which I am a part, to help and participate in human rights projects created by myself or to connect them up with other projects of AHRT.

7. I will contribute via my profession to the "Promise to the World" concerts/events, be it locally, nationally, or if my career extends to other countries, on an international level.

8. I will locate and seek to involve patrons of the arts for our human rights concerts/events or for other art forms that can promote the Declaration and its intentions so that they too become human rights guardians. Through my leadership as an AHRT participant, I will inspire as many people as possible from all walks of life to also be active and sponsor our projects and activities.

9. I will, as a participant of AHRT, ally myself with public groups and members of the music and entertainment industry that can help us achieve our purposes faster and on a grand scale.

10. I promise to help make AHRT strong and effective by uniting with other artists, entertainment industry executives and patrons of the arts on this planet in a shoulder-to-shoulder effort so that world peace can become a reality. We CAN light the fire of decency, goodness and tolerance in the hearts of the people and teach and inspire them through our creative powers. Only by seizing, knowing and defending these rights, each and every one of us, and only if we are willing to pay this price of freedom, can we have peace and happiness in the world and a civilization of which we can be proud.

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Note: Without responsibilities there can be no rights. This Honor Code for Universal Human Rights was composed so that each participant in the AHRT game would have a personal code of honor in which to play the game. Such a code of honor is a personal and ethical thing. It cannot be enforced. It is a point of honor for each adherent of the code, to follow it to the best of his or her abilities. We encourage all members of various professions and activities in the world to adapt this Universal Human Rights Code of Honor to their communities, as it has been adapted here to Artists and Friends of the Arts.

When every human being sees the Universal Declatation of Human Rights as the standard to follow and to defend, we will have made human rights a reality on earth.